Australia’s climate is changing. To help adapt to future changes, guidance on how to consider climate change in assessing and managing flood risk has been updated.
We have updated the Climate Change Considerations chapter of the Australian Rainfall and Runoff: A Guide to Flood Estimation (ARR). This guide is one of the most widely used references to assess flood risk for the built environment.
We have worked in partnership with Engineers Australia to update the chapter. The update incorporates the .
Key changes to the chapter include:
- Guidance on how to adjust historical rainfall data to reflect future climate change.
- A move from uniform to variable rainfall adjustments. This reflects evidence that the duration of a storm matters for estimating how temperature affects rainfall.
- Worked examples to help apply the advice.
The update was informed by public consultation and stakeholder input on both an and .
The next step is helping users understand how this non-mandatory national guidance relates to regulations and other guidance. We are partnering with Engineers Australia to run workshops for:
- state and territory regulators
- local government
- industry
- other relevant decision-makers.
These workshops will inform a possible update to the guidance in early 2025.
